Hanukkah and Christmas.... similar but oh so different

What a great season it has been to remember what God did for us in this season so long ago. He spared the Jewish people at Hanukkah, allowing us to gain a military victory over the Syrian Greeks in 165 BCE after a three-year struggle against King Antiochus. The war had raged so severely that we had not been able to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles for three months. So when the Temple was rededicated back to God, we celebrated the Feast. That feast is the only 8-day holiday in the Scripture, so that's why Hanukkah is an 8-day holiday in our calendars.

The story (myth, legend, tale) of the 'miracle of the oil' is great, whether it did or didn't happen.

As a result of the dedication (the Hebrew word is Hanukkah), the Jews were allowed to practice our religion both privately and publicly. Again. Praise the Lord.

Then 160 years later, an angel came to Miriam and Yosef in what we now call Israel and brought them startling news that they were going to be part of the Greatest Story ever told. Miriam was to be the mother of the Son of God, and they were to call their new baby Yeshua, which means "God saves." The couple travelled from the Galilee region to Bethlehem in Judea for the census and the birth of the baby.

Unusual guests came to visit during their sojourn there including shepherds and angels and mysterious astronomers from far distant lands east of Judea. All came to hear, to see, to adore, to help announce the Birth of the Jewish Messiah.

Hanukkah is a story of survival, success and salvation for the Jewish people.

Christmas is a story of salvation for all people.

Both are great stories, because they are both stories of the God of the universe who loves all people and wants us to know him personally and is willing to condescend to be among us, to become one of us, to show us the way to relationship with him. Praise the Lord.

Happy (last day of) Hanukkah.

Happy 9th day of Christmas.

Happy New Year 2025.

Enjoy the Lord of life today. Praise the Lord.

They call it Mahomes magic

Over the 7 full years of the artistry that is the work of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, I have heard the phrase Mahomes Magic over and over from commentators and pundits. And I appreciate their descriptions of the left-handed sideline pass or the final run into the end zone in the Titans game or... and the list goes on.

Last week on Christmas Day I saw something that could only be described as artistry. The Chiefss were playing the Steelers and were succeeding in situational football. But one particular play characterised the artistry of the young man Mahomes and this photo shot by someone, maybe even there at the stadium showcases what I mean.

Patrick scrambled to his left and saw his running back, third down specialist Samaje Perine on the ground in Pittsburgh. He saw what no one else would ever see, a receiver looking away from the play, on the ground, and Patrick threw him the ball. And Perine looked up while the ball was in the air and reached out and caught it for a first down. 

I call it artistry because only an artist could see this. Imagine Michelangelo in Italy looking at a block of marble. And he sees inside that block the statue of King David. He begins chipping away at the marble and eventually, you and I can see only one thing, and we could never see it when it was a block; only when he stripped away the dross, the excess, did the artist reveal to us what he saw all along. That's art. That's the Michelangelo Magic. (I prefer to label it artistry)

Seeing what no one else sees is the work of an artist and a work of faith. In fact, the writer of the letter labelled in the Bible as the "Book of Hebrews" says, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

So yes, Mahomes is a man of faith. And Perine is a man of faith who cooperated with Mahomes on that play and many others in this season. 

When God says of you that he loves you and wants you to know him personally. When he seeks you and brings light to your darkness. When he sent his only son to bear your sins and to die to bring you to himself. When God does all this, you are like Perine, lying on the ground, eyes away from the play, eyes and hands and feet failing you, unable to get up, unable to carry on. When all this happens, what do you think God is trying to do with you? Is God looking at the block of marble and seeing only stone? Or is he looking underneath, seeing what he wants to make of you? 

Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 

Look up and live. 

Look up; the play isn't over.

Look up and see the hand of the Master Playmaker who wants to make us and our lives in his image. 

That's not magic; it's artistry by the Master Artist of Eternity.